ENZYMES MAKING SUGAR

What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of this way of making sugar from starch, compared to using cane sugar?
Advantages: The sugar made from starch will be less expensive as compared to cane sugar which is more valuable. In addition, the sugar made from starch is more abundant than cane sugar which has to be imported and have less supply to meet the high demands.

Disadvantages: Process is tedious and has to be maintained at the right temperature and thus it is hard to obtain sugar from starch as compared to cane sugar which can be extracted from sugar beet that is grown. The taste or quality of the sugar may be different as compared to cane sugar and people may doubt its reliability or quality due to its origins from an inexpensive and unsweet starch.

What is hydrolysis?
The decomposition of certain biopolymers (proteins, complex sugars) by the chemical process that results in smaller polymers or monomers (such as amino acids or monosaccharides)

What are the advantages of using enzymes to make glucose from starch, compared to using boiling acid?
-The enzymes are able to make glucose from starch at a temperature of only 37°C as compared to using boiling acid which requires the temperature to be maintained at 150°C
-the enzymes act on the starch to produce glucose at a faster rate as compared to using boiling acid.
-the final product is often discoloured by the heat and the acid when making glucose from starch using boiling acid but starch is simply broken down by glucose without being changed by the enzymes.

Why would Aspergillus secrete amylase externally in nature?
Aspergillus secrete amylase externally to carry out extra-cellular digestion. When they have broken down the insoluble starch, the soluble end products such as glucose or maltose are absorbed into their cells.

If you were a food manufacturer, why would you want to replace glucose with a sugar that was twice as sweet?
This is because food that is sweeter is more tasty and thus will receive better response from consumers in terms of sellability of the food product.

What factors affect how well an enzyme works?
Temperature, pH of environment and concentration of enzymes used.

Which conditions inside the bioreactor will have to be constantly measured and controlled?
The pH and the temperature of the bioreactor have to be constantly measured and controlled.

Why is it possible that the enzymes can be “reused as many times as possible”?
Enzymes are catalysts that acts as active sites that convert substrates into different products without being changed itself and therefore they can be reused as many times as possible.

From your knowledge of plasma membrane, describe where would the enzymes be “stuck” in.
The enzymes are most probably stuck to

Name a few other uses that you can find in your home or in local industry.
-Detergents
Enzymes have been used in many kinds of detergents for over 30 years, since they were first introduced by Novozymes. Traditional use of enzymes in laundry detergents involved those that degrade proteins causing stains, such as those found in grass stains, red wine and soil. Lipases are another useful class of enzymes that can be used to dissolve fat stains and clean grease traps or other fat-based cleaning applications.
- Food
Many enzymes are used in the preparation of many different foods. For example,
  • amylases which are present in yeast are used in brewing and baking to convert sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
  • Proteases are used in tenderising meat. Rennin is essential to create cheese.
  • Invertase is used to make some soft centred sweets such as thin chocolate covered mints. A thick, almost solid, paste of sucrose and a little water containing invertase is covered in chocolate and left at room temperature for a few days. The sucrose is converted into a mixture of glucose and fructose which forms a runny goo.